You're just as difficult as me
by inkjacque
Summary: Karin and Hitsugaya both think the other is difficult but they don't see it that they are almost the same. Sometimes we all need a reminder of how relationships should be treated.
1. Chapter 1

"She gave me flowers, I accepted it, that was it." Hitsugaya answered coolly as he dipped his brush in his ink bowl. Karin crossed her arms against her chest as she stared at those horrific flowers in a narrow vase on his desk. Daises, roses, baby breaths, she hated them all.

Just one afternoon of going to the Shinigami Academy, Hitsugaya returned with a bouquet of flowers in hand with a card signed, _Love Your Love Bug. _

Karin scowled at the flowers. On the card has lipstick prints all over it and he dared still carry them. Hitsugaya looked up at her face and noticed her cheeks slowly turning red. She really was flaming at a petty gift. He sighed.

"What are you so mad about?" Hitsugaya asked her as Karin huffed. Karin snapped her eyes to his face, his eyes on his paper. Her fingers twitched at the very temptation to ring the flowers and scrunch them up so badly.

"On the note had lipstick kiss marks." Karin tried to suppress her frustrated tone. Hitsugaya slide his freshly written report to the side of the table.

"What else does it look like?" Hitsugaya retorted as he began writing again. Karin leaned against the back of the couch. Now she felt like ringing his neck and the flowers. Both would have felt good in her hands.

"I know what that looks like." Karin barked. She pushed herself off the couch and walked toward his desk. She picked up the card and the anger of having thought of him touching that lipstick card shot through her.

"By accepting this," Karin waved the card in front of Hitsugaya, "and those flowers, you like her, don't you?" Karin accused. Hitsugaya stopped writing and carefully placed his brushes down. Karin held the card still in front of his face. He crossed his arms into his sleeves and leaned against his chair.

"They are flowers. They're pretty. That's it." Hitsugaya answered her monotonously. Karin raised an eyebrow at him. The last time she gave him a stalk of rose, he just took and said thank you. That was all she got. What he did with it afterward, she had no idea. The next day she asked him where he had placed it and he simply replied to her that he accidentally got it squashed so he threw it away. No apology whatsoever.

"Then the card?" Karin fumed.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes.

"It came with the bouquet." Hitsugaya replied her coolly. The card crumpled up in Karin's grip as she thought of how he treasured the bouquet more than her stalk of rose that she gave him. Hitsugaya just watched her drop the crumpled card on the floor and stomped out of the office without saying anything else.

Hitsugaya sighed as he watched her stomp out. What was wrong with her? They only had dated a month and now she was getting upset over a stupid bouquet of flowers. Surely she could not be jealous?

Hitsugaya got up from his chair and got to the front of the table and picked up the crumpled card. He almost felt sorry for the piece of paper for getting 'killed' in Karin's hands. She, at times, could be pretty hard to handle. Like right now.

"Taicho?" Matsumoto walked in. Hitsugaya looked at her and moved to the side of the table and threw the card into the waste paper basket. He took his seat and looked up at Matsumoto that now stood in front of his desk.

"Did something happen between you and Karin?" Matsumoto asked.

"She's just being silly." Hitsugaya simply replied and looked at the flowers that sat on his desk.

Matsumoto looked at the flowers and placed her fingers over her lips. She giggled. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at her.

"What is so funny?" Hitsugaya asked her. Matsumoto shook her head and placed her hand back down at her side.

"No I was just laughing at how she could have gotten upset over those flowers that were given to you by a girl at the Academy. I mean, you didn't even get upset when a guy wrote a little love letter to her." Matsumoto chuckled. Hitsugaya felt his inside snap.

"What letter?" Hitsugaya said as he leaned forward with a slightly shocked expression. Matsumoto stopped chuckling and looked at her Taicho in confusion.

"You…you didn't know?" Matsumoto wondered. Hitsugaya, realizing his not so usual composure, leaned back.

"No." He answered and diverted his eyes away from Matsumoto. _Karin never mentioned anything about it…why didn't she tell me? _He wondered. A tinge of irritation rose in him. As of right now, he could feel his fists, hidden in opposite sleeves clench together.

"Oh… it is a petty thing. You don't care about that stuff. It is no big deal, right?" Matsumoto fanned sheepishly at Hitsugaya. He looked up at her with his suddenly deadly looking eyes. Matsumoto immediately stopped fanning her hand at him.

"Yeah, it is no big deal." Hitsugaya answered her coldly. Matsumoto looked at her Taicho. Just as she was about to say something else, he suddenly got up from his seat and headed toward the sword stand.

"Ah, Taicho? Where are you going?" Matsumoto asked him worriedly. Hitsugaya adjusted his sword behind him. He ran his fingers through his white hair and sighed.

"I'm going for a walk."

Without another glance, Hitsugaya left the office. Matsumoto sighed to herself and scratched her head.

_I hope I didn't cause too much trouble…_

_

* * *

_"You know Karin, you were being ridiculous about it." Ichigo reprimanded her. A soft breeze blew against the two as both brother and sister sat on top of a hill and watched the sun set in the horizon. The orange sky lit like warm fire and it almost matched Ichigo's hair. Karin sighed and let her chin rest on her propped up knees.

"Not all guys accept flowers from other girls just because they like the girl. Toushirou most probably took it because it was only nice of him to do so." Ichigo answered Karin.

Karin scowled. She refused to budge. Ichigo sighed at his stubborn baby sister. She had come looking for him at his office and he was free at the time. Knowing she needed some place to be alone from people, he brought her to a spot he discovered while roaming the hilly sides at the north a few months back. Ichigo leaned on his elbows with his head tilted to the sky. Karin shifted her eyes toward her brother as the wind brushed against them lightly.

"But he knew well enough she liked him, like more than like." Karin grumbled. Ichigo tilted his head back down at Karin and shook his head.

"He knew but have you ever thought how embarrassed she would be if he rejected it?" Ichigo said warmly.

"He should have," Karin said coldly. Ichigo sighed and pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"That's not fair to the girl Karin." Ichigo reprimanded her again. "If you gave flowers to a person you admire a lot and he just rejected it, how would you feel?"

Karin rolled her eyes, "hurt."

That was what she had felt when he told her about the stalk of rose she had given him. He did accept it but he ended up having it thrown away without apologizing about it.

"And embarrassed…" Karin mumbled. Her hard eyes softened up at the very thought of imagining how the girl might have felt.

Ichigo smiled at her baby sister. "He was only being nice and you don't see that side of him very often, do you?"

Karin looked at her brother and frowned again. "He was nice to her. He is hardly nice to anyone unless he likes them."

Ichigo turned toward the orangey red sky and ran his fingers through his hair. As far as he had known, Hitsugaya was bit of an arrogant bastard at times but he had shown his nice side a number of times. He had supported Ichigo on missions when no one else wanted to, he was concerned from his safety though he never showed it outright, Hitsugaya was a nice person, just difficult to see.

"You're not exactly a nice person all the time Karin-chan. You can be rude, loud-mouthed and arrogant," Ichigo said without looking at Karin.

Karin looked away from her brother. Now he was telling her off. All she wanted was for him to support her and not piss her off further.

"But you show your nice side to others who are nice to you. That does not mean you like them right?" Ichigo said simply as he looked at Karin's back of her head. Karin stayed silent for a moment. Now she felt guilty for have beginning to get mad at her brother.

_I am such an idiot… _Karin thought of herself. Ichigo was right.

Suddenly a pair of arm wrapped around her shoulders. Karin lifted her head to see her brother smiling at her with his orange flaring against the deep orange red sky.

"It's okay to have been jealous. All you can do now is apologize about it…and be sincere about it." Ichigo advised her.

_And I have to do the one thing I am not so good at…_

_

* * *

_**I thought I should this little short story. It came to me through an inspiration of a relationship I sorta know of. Not mine though hahaha. **

**Just a little something to show that in any relationship, we all need someone to talk us through our relationship problems. We all cannot work it out ourselves sometimes. We need a little help along the way and a few words to keep us reminded that there is a reason why our love one chose us to be with. **_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Granny looked down at her poor carrot that now looked like a mere stick. Her old eyes twinkled as she moved from the pitiful vegetable to her grandson's ruthless teal eyes. There he was sitting next to her, on a stool no higher than twenty centimeters off the floor, out on the porch, head bowed down, eyes sharp as ever, shredding the carrot. More like murdering it till it was hard to identify as a vegetable. Granny sighed and looked at the about to break into two remains of the carrot in Hitsugaya's hands. He was still shredding it.

"I can't make dinner with that one." Granny said quietly. Immediately, Hitsugaya snapped out of his merciless trance and stopped his actions. He looked at the poor carrot that had just suffered to its end in his own hands. Hitsugaya just stared at it.

Granny looked at Hitsugaya and the carrot in his hands, back and forth, to and fro. She placed her carrot back into her basket and looked at her grandson. The wind tossed up his soft white hair that bounced lightly with every moment he made. His eyes looked so deep and lost, like he was talking to himself in his head. Turbulence of inner frustrations kept his mind out of reach from reality and his focus away from his work.

She looked deeper. What could it be that just annoys Hitsugaya or keeps him in deep thought? Nothing ever really took him away this easily…except for one thing.

"What happened between you and Karin-chan?" Granny questioned. Hitsugaya looked up at her and then looked back at the carrot. He flipped his palm over and the twig like carrot fell into the basket.

"Nothing happened," Hitsugaya lied.

"You just murdered one of my carrots, I deserve a little something in return," Granny tried to reason. Hitsugaya looked at the forsaken carrot. Poor guy. Hitsugaya sighed. Why didn't Karin tell him about the love letter? When did it happen? Was she trying to hide it from him? She could not have. She would not, right?

Hitsugaya frowned deeply. Was she swept away by someone else? Was this someone else better than him? Did he do something wrong?

_Is this how she must have felt?_

"Toushirou?"

"Hai?" Hitsugaya looked up at his granny. She gave him a quizzical look. "What?" He asked again.

"Did you two get into a fight?" Granny questioned Hitsugaya as he lay against the wooden walls of the house.

He said nothing.

WHACK!

"OW!" Hitsugaya shouted and leaned forward with his head bowed down. He quickly placed both his hands on top of his head to stand the blow inflicted. Recollecting what just happened, Hitsugaya tilted his head to an angle and looked up at his Granny.

"What was that for?!" Hitsugaya exclaimed. With a large thick white carrot in her hand, Granny continued to peel the top layers off. She said nothing. Hitsugaya looked back down at the floor and rubbed his head.

_God it hurts! Fuck! _Hitsugaya grumbled as he rubbed his head.

"You want to know why I hit you?" Granny asked casually as she peeled the layers.

"Not really…" Hitsugaya answered her, slowly getting over the pain.

"Because you're messing up your one chance at a relationship," Granny answered despite Hitsugaya's reply. Hitsugaya looked at his Granny and turned away. She was right but he was not very good at admitting others were right. Or at least saying he was wrong or an idiot.

"I give her support because you're not an easy person to be with, Toushirou. I know that for a fact because I raised you," Granny continued as she picked up another carrot and started to peel the top layer off. Hitsugaya sighed. Was he really that difficult?

"Sometimes I wish you would spare a thought for others. I know that being who you are gives you a form of security but it also pushes others away. Do you want to push Karin away?" Granny stopped peeling and turned to her grandson that was staring out at her vegetable patch. She smiled. He knew very well that what she said was very true.

"Come, stop being a sop and help me carry the carrots into the kitchen. I want to have an early dinner," Granny ruffled Hitsugaya's white mop of hair. Hitsugaya picked up the basket from the floor in front of him and the basket from his Granny's lap. With two baskets in one hand, he reached for his Granny's arm and helped her up to her feet.

"Thank you, Toushirou," Granny smiled as she and Toushirou walked back into the house.

_The faster we eat, the faster you can go and apologise to her. _

_

* * *

_Karin kicked a pebble. The wind blew harder as evening sky set in. Tell him she was sorry? It was not exactly the easiest thing to do for her. Sure she can say sorry but she still felt he behaved like an idiot to her. How can he not know she was jealous?

_I'm not pretty…I'm not exactly smart…why can't he just understand that I don't think I am half as good as others think of me?_ It was not self-pity. It was what Karin thought of as a fact. There were girls that looked prettier than her, that were smarter than her. Any boy would dump her for someone better.

_I was…just scared…_Karin thought sadly.

"Opps, sorry," Karin bumped into a couple.

"Oh it's okay, we should have watched where we were going," the lady smiled at Karin.

"Come honey, let's tie it on this branch here," the man maneuvered the lady to a low branch that had flowers all over it. Karin looked up and noticed that in front of her, there were men and women tying paper to branches of this humongous tree in front of her. Karin stared at it in awe.

"Wow…" Karin muttered as she noticed that the tree's flowers were in full bloom. Pink flowers bloomed all the way to very tip of each branch. Some flowers that broke away from the branches floated on the wind's current.

Curious as to what people were doing to the tree, Karin moved around the tree and looked at each note tied to a branch. One the piece of paper had two names, one looked to be a man's name and the other, a woman's. Karin raised an eyebrow. She moved to the next note. It was the same as the previous one. One had a man's name while the other had a woman's name. She went through a couple more and realized all had one man's name and the other, a woman's.

"Do you need a piece of paper, young one?" An old man approached her with a piece of paper and a pencil in one hand and a walking cane in his other hand. Karin turned toward him and looked at the tree.

"What…what is this tree for? I mean, what are all these notes on the tree for?" Karin asked. The old man looked at the tree and smiled.

"You haven't heard of this tree before?" The old man turned back to Karin.

She shook her head.

"This tree has a name. Its name is Agape. It means love in Greek," The old man said. Karin turned to the tree. _A tree for couples. _

"What is the purpose of writing the names on a piece of paper and tying it to a tree?" Karin asked as she watched a woman sit on her lover's shoulder to tie a piece of paper on a branch that was out of their reach.

"It is a form of telling the world of your relationship. Think of it as a declaration of your love." The old man gave her a sweet toothy smile. His eyes were soft and warm that it uplifted the doubts within Karin.

"When you read the names on the paper, you don't care how they look like, where they are form or how great their intelligence is, you just know they love each other for who they are." The man continued. Karin sighed. For some reasons, Karin felt as if he knew what she needed to hear. What her heart needed to know.

"Thank you," Karin smiled at the old man. The great want to write her name and Hitsugaya's on a piece of paper pulled at her fingers. However, with what happened earlier today, it would not feel any bit special at all. She started to take off when the old man called out to her.

"Do you have a man in your life?" The old man asked. Karin turned to face the man.

"I'm not sure," Karin answered. That was the best she could give him for now.

"May I ask…are you the one who takes care of the tree?" Karin asked.

"My wife and I take care of it." The old man replied Karin.

"She's at home taking care of our grandchild at the moment," the old man continued.

Karin looked back up at the tree and smiled. "Goodnight," Karin greeted before she turned away and headed down the path.

"He loves you, he just has a hard time showing it," The old man said out to Karin. Karin continued down the path without stopping. Her heart dipped a little.

_I hope that's true. _

_

* * *

_Hitsugaya tucked his hands into opposite sleeves, his mind lost in thoughts. After dinner, his Granny insisted he think about how he had been treating Karin and whether he deserves to apologise to her.

"_Sometimes I wish you would spare a thought for others. I know that being who you are gives you a form of security but it also pushes others away. Do you want to push Karin away?"_

She was absolutely right. But it was hard for him. He was like that from the day he knew he was living in Soul Society. The wind blew hard as the night stars glimmered down on him.

_Winter's approaching…_Hitsugaya thought as he looked up toward the sky.

Then, he noticed something.

_Where am I? _Hitsugaya looked around. The whole place seemed so unfamiliar to him. He was on top of a short hill with a humongous tree in front of him. On the lower half of the tree had a weird things hanging from the branches.

_This is not the route I always take…I guess I must have been in too deep a though I took the wrong road…_ Hitsugaya looked around and shrugged. He walked towards the tree and noticed the things hanging from the branches were papers.

_Vandalism? _Hitsugaya thought of.

"Can I help you, young man?"

Hitsugaya turned around to see an old woman approach him. In the distance, not too far away from the tree, was a small house. Hitsugaya walked toward the old woman and looked at the tree. She must not know anything about his status since she had no reaction to his haori.

"Have people been vandalizing this tree?" Hitsugaya said firmly. For some reason, he was no entirely happy with people doing stupid things to nature. It was bad enough there were slumps around in soul society that looked badly vandalized and polluted. Small forests were decorated with spray paints and carvings. It was an eye sore.

"Oh no, this tree was not vandalized. Why, I would not understand why anyone would want to do that?" The old woman chuckled.

"Then what are those things hanging on the branches?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Papers with names of each couple who want to proclaim to the world that they are in love," the old woman answered him. Hitsugaya looked at the tree and his anger dissipated at the realization that it was not vandalism at work.

"Oh, I see." Hitsugaya said.

Strangely, the tree had such an odd pull toward him, an odd pull toward his heart. The peaceful night sky, the wonder of nature around him, the glimmering stars and the large tree in front of him brought a strange comforting feeling to his soul.

"Agape, that is the name of tree."

_Love, in Greek. _

"You know, for centuries, I've seen people come here, not just to declare their love, but apologise for the mistakes they have made to each other. By writing their love down, they are telling the world that their love looks past each other's own faults." The old woman said, her voice smooth and wise.

Hitsugaya felt his heart dip a little. _Karin…I'm sorry…_

"Do you have a girl in your life, dear?" The old woman asked. Hitsugaya sighed and a faint smiled appearedon his lips.

"Yes, yes I do."

"Aw, why not ask her to come here and both of you write your names down?" The old woman smiled as she turned to the tree.

"She's…kind of mad at me right now," Hitsugaya sighed. Karin, her temper, many would have perished in fear but strangely, he found himself to adore it in a certain way.

_I'm weird. _

"For all you know, she's just sad because she doesn't know how much you care about her," the old woman said quietly. Hitsugaya caught onto her words but instead of answering her, he realized that it could really be how Karin was really feeling about him.

"I should go," Hitsugaya said. He patted the old woman's shoulder as a sign of thanks and took his leave.

* * *

**I honestly would like to continue on this chapter but I have to stop to do my work. **

**Sorry that I have to make you guys wait for the next chapter. :\ and just so you know that this is one a one or two shot. I'm not sure how long it will be but it is a short chapter story. **

**^ ^ and I will be embarking on a new long story chapter soon (after I'm done with "Someone for me"). **

**Anybody read "Swirl of your taste"? *hint* *hint*  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Karin slid open the office door. It was dark. It was eleven pm and everyone had returned to their quarters for the night. Not bothering to turn on the lights, Karin stepped in and guided herself through the office with only the moon's luminance to give her some light.

Earlier she returned to her quarters and took out a piece of note. In it she wrote, "I'm sorry…" and that was it. She did mean it from the bottom of her heart but she could not bring herself to say it, especially in front of Hitsugaya. It felt like a dent to her pride to say it vocally.

"_In relationships, sometimes you have to put your pride aside to let things work."_

_Who knew Ichi-nii would say something like that? _Karin sighed. She would gladly put her pride aside but she was still mad at what he had done to her rose and how he took extra care to the bouquet that was from some other girl.

_That baka…_Karin thought as she gazed at Hitsugaya's desk and chair. Her eyes fell onto the vase. The flowers were still there. For some reason, her anger had not rise. Instead, her heart just dipped.

_I guess I took it all out with Ichi-nii earlier…_Karin thought as she wondered why she had no anger in her, no fire or fuel. Karin shrugged and stepped toward the desk. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded note with her apology in it. She was apologising and she did put her pride aside, just not vocally. Karin placed the note carefully on Hitsugaya's desk and sighed. Deep inside, she just wished he would show her how much he cares or enjoys being with her. Sometimes he acted like as if their relationship never existed.

She was not asking for much but she wanted some romance. She may still be rough at times but she has, after all, grown up and became a lady. Romance was the thing that she looked forward to everyday.

Maybe because he was a Captain, he can't go around doing stuff a normal boyfriend does.

_What exactly does a normal boyfriend do? _Karin wondered. Shower his girlfriend with gifts? Take her out on night walks? Sing songs to her? No those were just too cheesy and typical.

What she wanted was just his company. And his attention, affection, hug, smiles, maybe little kisses…_and that's not much to ask! _Karin thought as she placed her hands on her hips. The last time he gave her a kiss? _I forced it on him four days ago. _Karin faced the cruel reality. She could not even remember when he kissed her.

_Some kind of boyfriend he is. _Karin dropped her hands to her side. Karin turned around when she stopped.

Her grey eyes chance upon a pair of teal familiar eyes.

There was Hitsugaya standing at the entrance to the office. His teal eyes gazed harshly at her, as if he was about to eat her alive. Karin stood still. Frozen more like it. He looked really mad and he looked like he was about to just say something that would make her cry. He was known to be the only one who could make her cry. The one thing Karin didn't like, and at the same time, loved.

"I-I came to just…drop off some stuff," Karin managed to gather her courage to speak out while she inwardly cursed herself for feeling afraid. Hitsugaya looked at his desk and saw a small piece of note in the middle. Hitsugaya returned his sights onto his slightly frightened girlfriend.

_Good. _

Hitsugaya stepped in and turned to close the office door behind him. Karin inhaled deeply. Bracing herself for the cold words he was about to smack her with. Her heart ached.

The next thing surprised Karin.

Hitsugaya reached for his sword sash and untied it. He swung his sword over and placed it on his desk. And before she knew it, he advanced toward her with those scary eyes. Before Karin could react to him, Hitsugaya had her up against the wall, his hands on either side of her head, his body pressed against her chest. Everything happened so fast that Karin didn't even know she stopped breathing. Her eyes had no room to look away. Given the amount of space, she had no room to move even an inch. All she could do was maintain eye contact with Hitsugaya.

"Tell me," Hitsugaya breath tickled the sides of her jaw. "Who wrote you that love letter?"

Karin's eyes widened at his accusation. "What love letter? No one wrote me any letter."

"Oh yeah? Matsumoto said otherwise." Hitsugaya growled.

Karin clenched her fists. _Was he accusing her?? Matsumoto? _

"What the hell does Matsumoto have to do with this?" Karin exclaimed. "No one wrote me a damn love letter!" Karin spat back, regaining her inner fire to stand up to bullies like him.

Hitsugaya searched within the depths of her grey eyes. She was shocked at his words. She looked far too angry to be lying now. She looked hurt too.

Before Hitsugaya could say another word, Karin delivered a blow into his stomach and forced Hitsugaya to stumble backward while he hugged his stomach.

"Ugh!" Hitsugaya kneeled down. Karin always had a good fist.

"You idiot!" Karin stepped forward. "The love letter that was written to me, the one I told Matsumoto about, was from a classmate of mine back when I was in kindergarden! I was five years old!" Karin yelled.

It was so typical of Matsumoto to not tell the full story. Or maybe it was intentional. Either way it granted Karin to be able to land her fist on Hitsugaya. Something she wanted to do for quite awhile.

"And if you bothered to ask me nicely, I would have spared you this you twit!" Karin spat as she watched Hitsugaya recover from her punch.

Hitsugaya looked up at Karin's angry and hurt face. _A five year old gave another five year old a love letter…_Hitsugaya felt like smacking himself.

His inner jealousy immediately died at the realisation that he got so upset over a kid's affections. It was embarrassing…and it was stupid…of him. Hitsugaya bowed his head. _I'm such an idiot…_Hitsugaya sighed. First he got her jealous over the flowers, second he got her mad over him not spending time with her or showing his affections to her, third he just accused her of a secret love letter…from a five year old.

"Karin, I"-

"I'm sorry…"

Hitsugaya looked up.

"I'm…sorry…." Karin said once more. Hitsugaya slowly got up. Karin had her head hung low. Was it pride finally taking a short vacation?

"I shouldn't have punched you," Karin mumbled softly as she turned away. "And I shouldn't have called you a twit…or an idiot."

_Hope you're happy now Ichi-nii…_

Then, a pair of arms wrapped around her body.

"No, I deserved it," Hitsugaya said warmly as he hugged her tighter. Karin eased up as she remained still in Hitsugaya's embrace. A hug. That was what she wanted for quite some time. And he admitted he deserved her scolding, and hopefully her punch.

"I'm sorry, Karin," Hitsugaya apologised as he nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, his lips brushed lightly while his hot breath swept over her skin as he breathed. _His kiss…_Karin felt her heart rise slowly from its sad descent.

Karin pulled away. Hitsugaya loosened his hold on her but his arms still remained around her. She raised her hands up and planted them on the sides of his face. Slowly, her fingers made rounds on his cheek. Hitsugaya closed his eyes as he indulged in her smooth hands that slowly caressed his face. And then, a pair of lips made contact with his.

Hitsugaya indulged deeper into Karin's soft lips as he pulled her tighter toward him and deepened the kiss. He inhaled her bodily scent as Karin raised her hand up the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. In no time, their kiss burst into a passion of wild fire.

Backed up to the wall like earlier, Karin had Hitsugaya's uniform loosened and her hands found its way inside, feeling his bare smooth skin that she longed to touch.

Hitsugaya reached for Karin's shoulders and pulled down her uniform. His warm hands slid over her bare shoulders and down her back, inside her uniform. He could feel the straps of her bra and the hook behind. Karin took her hands out from his uniform and forced him to change position. Now it was Hitsugaya the one up against the wall.

Karin pulled back; taking into account that Hitsugaya had her uniform loosened up to the point her bra could be partially seen. Karin looked down at her chest and looked back up at Hitsugaya. No form of expression on her face. Realizing what he had just done, Hitsugaya smacked his forehead. "I-I didn't mean it! I'm sorry Karin! Please don't be mad! I just…I just got caught up in you"-

Hitsugaya stopped his sentence as Karin let her top fall to reveal her firm stomach and bra. She pulled her arms out of her sleeves and now she was just in her bra. His eyes were wide open with surprise. She looked so attractive and her body just screamed the word 'Sexy' in Hitsugaya's head.

"I show you mine, you show me yours," Karin smirked as she leaned into him and gripped his uniform. Slowly, she pulled his uniform apart and leaned into chest. As she pulled, she delivered soft kisses up his chest to his neck. Hitsugaya let his head rest against the wall as he let Karin take care of him. A soft moan emitted from Hitsugaya as Karin traced her lips along his jaw. Her hands planted themselves on his firm abs and caressed them gently with her fingers. Finally, her lips found his.

For what lasted for a long time, both of them remained in each other's hold, slowly caressing each other lips and feeling each other's body. Like two souls finally finding harmony, the two remain partially hidden by the shadows, finding solitude.

"I…love…you," Hitsugaya whispered between each kiss.

Karin pulled back a few inches from Hitsugaya's lips and looked into his eyes. "I love you too…"

She smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry I haven't been such a good boyfriend to you." Hitsugaya looked down.

Karin lifted his chin up and gazed into his eyes. "I haven't been a very patient girlfriend either." Karin said softly. Hitsugaya returned a smile and leaned forward. He planted a kiss onto her lips and pulled back to take a good look at her face. He ran his fingers through her hair, allowing her silky black hair slip between his fingers.

"There's somewhere I want to bring you," Hitsugaya smirked. Karin raised an eyebrow at him.

"Now?" Karin asked.

* * *

It was one am in the morning. Dressed in her brown knee length skirt, black collar shirt and knee length boots, Karin zipped up her brown jacket. The wind was not strong but it was very cold. Karin could see her breath as she exhaled. Winter was on its way. Apparently she underestimated the weather.

_A skirt, what the hell was I thinking?? _Karin scolded herself.

Hitsugaya reached for Karin's hand and held onto it tight as they walked. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a brown sweater with its collar stood up and another blue windbreaker jacket over it. He was perfectly protected from the cold.

Hitsugaya and Karin made their way down a path and up a hill. Karin looked around and found the place somewhat familiar. Unconsciously, Karin released her hand from Hitsugaya's and wrapped her arms around his arm. Hitsugaya turned to her and smiled. He looked down and sighed. He didn't question her about the skirt when they left. He knew she thought she could handle the cold. Apparently not.

"Hold on," Hitsugaya stopped. He took off his blue windbreaker and got behind Karin. He wrapped the sleeves of his jacket around her waist and tied it. Karin immediately felt the cold shielded away from her legs. Slowly, her legs started to warm up.

"How's that?" He asked. Karin blushed at her embarrassment.

"But you'll be cold," Karin said.

"No, not really. It's not winter yet. I can still stand the cold. I just brought it for extra protection." Hitsugaya said as he took Karin's hand into his own and continued up the hill with her.

Finally they reached the peak of the short hill. Karin found herself looking at the same tree she saw very much earlier.

"I chance upon this tree earlier today. No idea how I ended up here but I think it was fate." Hitsugaya said as he and Karin proceeded toward the tree. The moon touched the tree with its bath and the flowers greeted the couple with its fragrance of fresh untouched beauty. Karin smiled. He was bringing out his romantic side.

"I think it was fate too. I came upon here by chance too earlier today." Karin said. Hitsugaya turned to look at her with a surprised look.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah. I have no idea how I got to here but I guess it was meant for me to get to know of this tree," Karin said. She got behind Hitsugaya and hugged him. She buried her face into his back as Hitsugaya hugged her arms that wrapped around his stomach.

"Thank you," Karin mumbled. Hitsugaya smiled and tapped on her hand. Karin let go of him.

"Don't thank me yet," He said and reached into his windbreaker's pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper that had a string attached to it.

"Before I left the house, I did this." Hitsugaya hung it in front of Karin.

On it wrote,

"Karin & Toushirou

Our tempers are equally matched, so is our love for each other."

Karin burst into laughter at the last line he wrote. Hitsugaya smirked, as Karin's cheek slowly got pink. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her cold cheek. Karin ceased her laughter and indulged in the soft, warm feeling on her cheek.

"Here," Hitsugaya grabbed hold of Karin's arm and pulled her under the tree. He looked up to look for the right branch. Finally he pointed at one high up, adorned with a few other notes.

"It's high." Karin commented.

"I'll climb it," Hitsugaya said. Karin thought for a moment before she remembered the couple that had tied their note on a high branch that none of them could reach on their own. Karin got round behind Hitsugaya.

"Come on, kneel down. I'll sit on your shoulders," Karin said.

"What?" Hitsugaya said. The thought of having her sit on his shoulders, in a skirt, with his head in between her thighs made him nervous.

"I sit on your shoulders while you stand. That way I can reach the branch," Karin explained.

"I uh…why not just climb it?" Hitsugaya said. Karin looked at him confused for a second before realizing what she had just said and what it would look like.

"Oh come on, tucking your head in between my thighs is not entirely a bad thing right?" Karin teased. Hitsugaya's eyes widened at her statement and looked away to hide his nervous blush. Karin giggled and placed her hand on his cheek. She pulled him back to face him and kissed the top of his nose.

"You might get lucky with me tonight," Karin teased further.

"What do you mean by that?" Hitsugaya said taken aback by her words. _She's not talking about….doing it, is she??_

"I'm talking about getting a peak at my underwear, dumb dumb," Karin knocked Hitsugaya's head lightly. Hitsugaya swatted her hand away and frowned.

"Take you're mind out the gutter," Karin laughed.

"Then quit making dirty statements," Hitsugaya sniped back. Karin kissed her fingers and blew a kiss to him.

_I should do this more often. _Karin winked at him.

"Whatever, fine, get on," Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. He turned around and got down on one knee. Karin smirked as she got in front of him and stood directly over his head.

"Don't peak," Karin smirked. Hitsugaya cleared his throat as Karin turned around and positioned herself down on his shoulders.

"Hold on," Hitsugaya cautioned as he slowly got up. Karin held the top of his head till Hitsugaya finally stood up straight. The warmth of Karin's thighs heated Hitsugaya's neck greatly, which caused Hitsugaya to blush deeply.

"Alright down there?" Karin checked cheekily. Her skirt was right over the top of his white mop hair.

"Could you just tie the note to the branch?" Hitsugaya snorted. Karin patted Hitsugaya's head playfully and proceeded to raise her arms to the branch. Hitsugaya waited patiently as his girlfriend tied the note. She was surprisingly quite light for someone who was skilled at hand-to-hand combat and could deliver a pretty good punch.

"Honey, could you take a step forward?" Karin said, unconscious of the fact she just referred Hitsugaya as 'Honey'.

Hitsugaya blushed. "Honey?" He smirked. That was something new.

Karin looked down and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! Did I say that? Oh well, just do what I said," Karin ordered, embarrassed at the fact she just used such a name to him. Hitsugaya chuckled as he took a step forward.

Karin clamped her mouth. The moment he moved, his hair tickled her thighs lightly.

"You okay?" Hitsugaya titled his head up a bit to check on Karin.

"Y-yeah," Karin replied. She proceeded to tie a second knot to the string. Finally, after checking if the note was properly secured, Karin tapped Hitsugaya's head.

"Done," Karin said. Hitsugaya raised his arms up and grabbed hold of her waist. With ease, Hitsugaya lifted Karin off his shoulders and down back on the ground.

"You are surprisingly light for such a tough fighter," Hitsugaya cleared his throat as Karin straightened her skirt.

"Thank you, I think," Karin said as she looked up at the branch with their declaration of love written on it. Hitsugaya moved toward Karin and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulders and nudged the side of her head. Karin leaned into him and admired their note tied to the branch.

For a while, they remained silent as they watched their note float softly on the wind's current.

"You've got nice legs," Hitsugaya commented with a smirk.

"Shut up."

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter ^ ^**

**And Nope, this is not the end. :}**

**One more chapter to go *sings* **

**ps. I would love to write the next chapter now, unfortunately, I need to start on my assignment before I get really screwed.**

**So...till then, have fun!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

A pair of grey eyes lazily opens. In the background, a slow song plays. On her side, Karin slid her hand out of under the covers and placed her hand on her pillow. For a while, she remained like that, awake but not really thinking. Her eyes slowly roamed about the room and finally landed on the window where the sunlight softly streamed through. The whole room looked nothing like hers. And since when did her room feel strangely warm and comfortable with the approach of winter? Instead of panicking, Karin remained calm and unmoved by the fact she was possibly in someone's room.

"Hey there lazy," came a soothing soft voice. Before Karin could turn around, someone shifted next to her and a hand slid onto her waist beneath the covers. A pair of lips touched her ear.

"It's ten-thirty am," Hitsugaya whispered as he pulled Karin closer to his chest.

Karin smiled as he intertwined his fingers with hers. Her heart started to float like a cloud in the sky.

"Good morning," Karin said as she tilted her head to try and get a good look at her lover. Hitsugaya snuggled his face in her hair and inhaled her fragrance. Karin giggled as he kissed her ear.

"Shouldn't I get to work?" Karin yawned.

Hitsugaya shook his head and yawned. "No. Today both of us are off," he answered her.

"No, today is your day off. My off day is tomorrow. I have to be at work," Karin corrected him. Hitsugaya smiled. Their walk home last night was one of the best walks he had ever had in a long time. It only felt sad when he arrived at her door to drop her off. However, Karin did not let go of his arm even when he said that she should make sure to keep herself warm in bed.

They ended up back at his house.

"Toushirou?" Karin said as she waited for him to reply.

"You really want to let today go to waste?" He whispered in her ear.

"I definitely won't want to but I have to report to work," Karin giggled as Hitsugaya started to plant small kisses along the back of her neck.

"Today is an exception." He stopped to answer her before returning to planting more kisses. Karin closed her eyes and indulged in his display of affection. His lips were soft and smooth as he made contact with her neck. Her heart pulled at her to stay but her mind kept telling her she had work.

"I'm sorry baby, but you don't want others to think you're treating me differently just because I'm your girlfriend," Karin laughed softly as Hitsugaya kissed up her ear and started to nibble her earlobe.

"They already know I treat you differently. It comes with the relationship." Hitsugaya said as he brushed her hair aside and kissed back down to her neck to the front. Karin giggled as his messy white hair fell over her face and tickled her cheeks.

"That feels nice," Karin complimented. It was true though. Though he still treated her fairly, like the rest of the squad, his small gestures did show the differences. There was no denial there. He was right.

Hitsugaya smirked as he let go of her hand under the covers and reached for her face. He cupped her cheek and slowly pushed her to face upward. Karin changed her position as Hitsugaya gently motioned her to lay straight. As she lay straight, Hitsugaya slowly made his way up her neck, on her chin and finally landed his lips onto hers. With his hand at the side of her face slowly caressing her cheeks, he gently suckled on her lips; while he enjoyed hearing her soft moans of pleasure. Now his naked upper body lay onto of her.

"I'm the Captain and I say your off day is today," Hitsugaya pulled away from her lips and looked into her eyes with great want for her company.

Karin pulled her hands out from under the cover and placed on his hand that cupped her face. Slowly she slid her hand up to his shoulder.

"I guess if my Captain says so, I have no choice but to comply," Karin smiled as she slid her hands up his neck and let her fingers comb through his soft white messy hair.

Hitsugaya grinned. "That's a good girl," he said before he delivered a hungry kiss to her lips. Karin giggled at his use of authority. It was romantic in a sense.

For a good two minutes, Karin let herself be handled by Hitsugaya however he wanted. She just lay there and caressed his back with both hands as he combed through her hair with his fingers and lusciously nibbled and kissed her lips. It was not rough but also not too gentle. It was passionate and kind, intoxicating and warm all around. With a soft song playing through the background, the two slowly got themselves tangled up in each other's arms and legs.

Hitsugaya found himself lying the other side of Karin, on his side, once more with his legs intertwined with Karin's slender ones. The blanket had been pushed one side to reveal Hitsugaya in just a pair of dark blue sweatpants, while Karin in one of Hitsugaya's long sleeve shirts that acted covered her all the way down past her bottom by a few inches. Hitsugaya slowly slid his hands downward, past her waist onto her legs. As he kept her lips busy, he caressed her thigh gently. Karin shivered slightly at his touch. However she kept her lips in contact with his as her hands toyed with his hair. With each second, he slowly slid his hands up a few inches, hoping he would be given permission to do what he have wanted to do in a long time.

Karin moaned in pleasure of his soft and smooth hands. Taking it as a go sign, Hitsugaya continued his way up her strong and slender legs before he finally felt her soft cotton underwear. Karin giggled before she pressed her lips back firmly on his lips. With a small celebration going on at the back of his head, Hitsugaya smiled as he toyed with her tongue and caressed her bottom lightly.

"I…love...you…Karin," Hitsugaya spoke softly in-between each parting of their kiss. Karin parted from his lips and panted lightly.

"I love you too, Toushirou," Karin smiled as she licked his lips lightly. Then she felt his hand, under his shirt that she was wearing, move up her bottom and caress her lower back. His hands, though have fought many battles with his sword, they have never ceased to feel soft and loving.

"Some people wait for a lifetime to feel like this," Hitsugaya breathed onto her lips. Karin cupped the side of his face and caressed his cheek with her thumb.

"Then don't keep me waiting any longer," Karin pulled his head closer to her till their lips reunited again.

* * *

An old woman stood near the edge of the hill and looked out into the sky. She smiled as she felt her heart rejoice in the happiness.

"And the world looks a little brighter everyday," she smiled.

An old man approached her from behind with a walking stick. He lovingly puts his arm around the woman's shoulders and kisses her cheek.

"Let's get some rest," He smiled. The two of them turn to look at the sky and with a gentle breeze, the couple shimmers away like golden dusts. As graceful as the wind, the golden dusts swam in circles and swirls above the treetop before diving in a whirl into its midst.

_The imperfection of love is what makes everyday a little more beautiful. _

_

* * *

_

**Hi guys, so sorry I took awhile to finish this short story. **

**Even though it is my hols at the moment, I've been going back to school for meetings and projects.**

**Please bear with me :S I'm so sorry!**

**Don't worry about Someone for me as I am still in progress of writing the story but the next chapter might take awhile because, truthfully, I haven't started on it yet. **

***Shields myself* Don't hurt me! **

**Please bear with me! I will complete it...just once I get some things out of my way and have a bit of time to think and write.**

**Thank you for understanding so much guys! And you're constant support is always appreciated. **

**It gives me more reason to write my fanfics and my future stories ^ ^**

**

**Oh and for those who don't know, I am starting a new long chapter story called 'How do you explain us?'. **

**It is a vampire HitsuKarin fanfic ^ ^  
**

**A similar background to 'Swirl of your taste'. **

**I am currently taking in thoughts of readers on what they would like to see or read in the story. **

**So please message me your thoughts.  
**

**It would also be helpful to me as I can spin out some ideas. :}**

**I think that would be all! Goodnight!  
**


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